Lens and Monaco in disagreement over Neil El Aynaoui’s knee injury following collapse of €17m move

Ligue 1 clubs Lens and Monaco are in complete disagreement over the extent of Neil El Aynaoui’s (23) injury, according to reports from L’Equipe and Foot Mercato. The 23-year-old defensive midfielder was set to leave the Artois side for the Principality outfit after both clubs agreed a €17m move for the Morocco U23 international. El Aynaoui was identified by Monaco as the ideal replacement for France international Youssouf Fofana (25), who is expected to leave amid interest from Manchester United and Milan.

El Aynaoui’s move collapsed after a knee injury ligament was reportedly detected during his medical on Thursday. Foot Mercato went as far as saying that the former Nancy midfielder was expected to undergo knee ligament surgery, meaning El Aynaoui would miss the better part of the next Ligue 1 season.

However, Lens have been taken aback by Monaco’s diagnosis of the need for surgery for El Aynaoui, L’Equipe reports. The outlet adds that Les Sang et Or mandated three surgeons to get their opinions on the player’s injury and none mentioned such an outcome. Foot Mercato adds that, contrary to Monaco, Lens believe that El Aynaoui will regain full fitness without the need for surgery.

GFFN | Bastien Cheval